cjohnson728

Saturday Check In:

1. Keep calories below 1300. 959, 1236, 1252, 1198, 1298
2. Exercise 6 times. Weights, Cardio Tennis, Tennis, Weights, Nothing
3. Log everything. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes
4. Post daily. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes
5. Drink 64 oz. water. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, No
6. Try 2 new healthy recipes. Yes-Chicken Cutlets Pomodoro, Yes-Orange Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry, Yes-Granola Bars, Yes-Pie Crust, Yes-Trail Mix

7. Send invoices out. Done
8. Deal with the dreaded insurance situation.
9. Continue working on pics for scrapbooking. Weekend Project
10. Get oral surgery scheduled. All they will schedule now is a f/u visit - Done

I will say that yesterday was relaxing, even if it wasn't great on goals. My throat hurt so I didn't drink as much water, though I am unfortunately hooked on those flavored waters that our store keeps putting on deep discount, and I got a couple of those down, along with a couple mugs of tea and some ginger ale. I should've exercised; I wasn't feeling bad enough that it should have been an excuse, but I convinced myself otherwise. I really had to fight the calories yesterday, too, between the granola bars and dinner; it was a struggle but for the first time in recent weeks I didn't give in. Bathing suits are a powerful motivator! Otherwise, it was a lovely day, baking, researching new recipes, reading, and playing some games with the family. Back to the chore chart today!

Rose, you are blowing the curve! You have been a superhero this week (and most weeks). I love the mental pic of Chico jogging along side of you, clipped to your belt. I know he enjoys it as much as you do.

MAIN80, sounds like you had a wonderful day with your niece. Sometimes pancakes happen, and I hope you were able to stay in your comfort range with dinner. If not, today's a new day.

ChibiSub, congrats on your hard work cleaning. Sounds like you did an impressive job. Good luck with the job(s).

Mike, I hear ya, I hear ya. I sing the same song. And I need to stop, dammit. Honestly, I can undo a week's worth of good work in a single night, and it hits me right out of the blue. Good for you for getting those specific goals out there. Let's do this right.

Mern

Saturday Report:
I didn't log my food yesterday, but I know I was under my calorie and carb limits since all I had all day was turkey, avocado, fresh spinach and mustard on half a low carb tortilla and then later a bowl of low carb chili and two pieces of sugar free chocolate. Forgot my fish oil and vitamin D, though, and took the day off exercise. Going to the Y today.


Cassie, I love cooking from scratch, but hate all the cleanup work. Your chicken pot-pie sounds delicious, too. I've got some arrowroot powder that's low carb enough for me to use as a thickener for gravy. I'm going to grill some chicken breasts today and will save some to use for a "faux chicken pot pie" casserole using a variety of low carb veggies and with Dreamfields low digestible carbs pasta instead of in a pie crust. I'm glad you had a lovely day yesterday despite your sore throat. Is it getting better? Your report for the week is FABULOUS! Wow, congrats on that! I was hooked on flavored waters for a while--at least most are sugar free, although the ones I buy contain aspartame sweetener which I have to use sparingly. I discovered Great Value Peach Drink from Walmart (like Crystal Lite drink mix) and it tastes exactly like fresh peaches. Contains aspartame, though, so I try to watch my intake of it.

Main80, good system for weighing. Good that you have learned to not officially rely on those daily scale fluctuations which can be so darned discouraging. I'm looking forward to that great week with you. LOL

Mike, those are good goals for Sunday. Green veggies are very low in carbs, so not counting them is a great (and also intelligent) way to get in more veggies. When you said green veggies don't count, though, that reminded me of an astonishing thing I THINK I heard correctly a couple days ago about Weight Watchers Points Plus. I thought the lady on the Dr. Oz show said all fruit is free on Points Plus. It astonished me because with my body being able to process only 25g carbs per day without meds to keep my blood sugar in the high normal range, my fruit is "legally" limited to berries and melon and an occasional half o' fresh peach. A medium apple is 17g carbs and a banana is way more than that. Fruit carbs are sugar carbs. If I ate unlimited amounts of bananas and apples, I may as well be eating carrot cake. LOL

ChibiSub, glad you enjoyed your walk and found two places at the mall who are hiring. Best wishes on finding another job. I didn't have a before picture either until I found that my niece posted on Facebook a picture of myself with her at my highest weight of 246 pounds. She did it out of love, but I was mortified to find it there for all the world to see.

Rose, great job at the Y! I thought about joining the 30 minute group cycling there, but thought I should maybe at least work up to a few miles of rolling hills intensity on my own on the stationary bike first--otherwise I probably couldn't keep up. Oh, wow! I copied your salmon recipe to my hard drive. I'll try that next time I see salmon steaks on sale. Sesame oil and lemons/lemon juice are staples in my pantry. What kind of herbs did you use? I'm glad you like the sound of my chili. I love "dump and taste" ideas where you can do your own thing and BBQ/outdoor grill recipes that don't require much cleanup at all.

Mern

Cassie, how did you like the Chicken Pomodoro? I could easily low carb that by using crushed pork rinds and arrowroot powder where it calls for flour. I usually use no sugar added sauces, so could just leave out the sugar. Thanks for yet another great idea! Sounds like it would be great with sides of yard beans and sauteed fennel from DH's garden. Yum!

cjohnson728

Mern, it was really, really good! I basically went off this recipe Chicken Cutlets Pomodoro - Healthy Recipe Finder | Prevention but since I seldom do anything "as written," I made some changes to make it more tomato-y, used freshly grated bread crumbs, and omitted the sugar. I served it with whole wheat spaghetti but it would be equally wonderful with veggies! I'm sure you could totally rock the low carb version.

When work slows down, Martha Stewart moves in. Today I am being taunted by a pie. I am dying to try it, but only two of us would eat it, and a whole pie between two people with a trip to the beach on the horizon is not a good idea. But I can't get it out of my head so maybe I will find some friends and neighbors...

Mern

LOL, Cassie. I'm like that, too--seldom do anything "as written." Thanks for posting the link--it's the exact recipe I found online to lowcarb. Great to know it was delish with the sugar omitted.

Best wishes on the pie. Sharing with a neighbor is a great idea and you could still keep the bikini bod for the beach. Let me know if you made it, and if so, what kind it was.

My favorite pie is lemon meringue. Kroger Lite Lemon Yogurt (nonfat and artificially sweetened) tastes just like the lemon meringue pie filling I like--just a little thinner consistency. I made some yummy lemon mini tarts a few weeks ago by cutting out 2 1/2 inch circles out of a really doughy low carb tortilla (La Banderita brand from Walmart) and baking them at 400 in mini muffin tins for just five minutes until golden brown--and when cool I filled each with one tablespoon of the lemon yogurt.

Ooh, you gave me an idea., "Martha" ! Maybe I'll try a peach tart later with low carb tortilla tart shells, fresh peaches and artificial sweetener!

I went to the Y this afternoon and reached my goal of working back up to 2 miles of walking.

cjohnson728

Mern, I've really enjoyed swapping recipe thoughts with you this weekend! Those tarts sound wonderful! I may give them a run. Being in Georgia, there is no shortage of peaches. I will have to look for those tortillas, too. I usually use La Tortilla Factory low carb, high fiber ones, but they tend to be a little stiff. Some fillers they're fine with; others not so much. You have awesome ideas...keep 'em coming!!

The pie in question is a strawberry pie from a famous (now defunct) restaurant in my hometown. I've been very nostalgic lately. My mom adores it and I would love to make her one when we go see her in a few weeks, but I need a trial run. Pie crust, pastry creme, strawberries, glaze, whipped cream, and slivered almonds...it's a work of art if done right.

Good for you, getting to the Y today. I've got half an hour on the stationary bike down and hope to do a walk/jog with hubby and the boy after dinner when it cools down. I finally picked a bathing suit combination this morning and got the rest ready to return...but I need to get serious and tone up my thighs before I'll be totally okay with my choice (okay, so maybe I shouldn't have let the hubby have too much of a say in it )). Truly, though, you see anything and everything on the beach these days and it's not like it's people I will ever see again, so I say fie on them if they want to pick on my jiggly parts! Hopefully after the beach trip I can load up some before and after pics to that thread in the other section.

01gt4.6

Hey ladies, I'm checking in and I'll catch up later. I went fishing today and 6 hours in the sun kicked my butt. Just cleaned the fish, cleaned myself and it's time to relax for a bit. I'm sticking to my plan today. My carbs are way down. It looks like I'll miss my goal of 5 policies by 1. I could have got the last one but will do it Monday. A client called me Saturday evening wanting me to bind the car insurance for her and her husband, I could have done it today but pushed it off until Monday.

MAIN80

Oh this cheat day... ended up having some wine with dinner = mistake

1. Weekly calorie deficit of 6000: 604, 451, 755, 1008, 1037, +410(3445)
2. Drink 3.5 L of water per day: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No
3. Walk dog 3 times this week: No, No, No Yes, Yes, Yes
4. Finish two lessons: No, No, One down, started the other, No, No
5. Work on the handbook: No, No, No, No, No, No
6. Deal with the inbox,: A little, a little more, getting there, my inbox is suffering from a summer flood... I will try to sort it over the weekend.... NEVERMIND[/QUOTE]

MAIN80

Mike, how could you almost forget about peaches? Good going on your more specific goals and meeting them!

Chibisub, my best wishes for your job application, that walk sure sounds productive ! Great going on your blog and book!

Rose, that salmon sounds delicious! I will try the run, I need to figure out the belt - leash thing. Well actually I need to plan how to start running... never really have. The biking is done when we are not in the city actually. Amazing job on your goals this week!

Cassie, pancakes happened like crazy, but yes today is a new day, a day in which I have desired no carbs Hope you feel better and congrats on getting the bathing suit sorted out and do not for one second mind what others might think at the beach, you do have an athletes body remember?

Mern, maybe this upcoming week is "our" week Looks like the Y has you really motivated, you are going on a Sunday! I will have get your motivation and do some pilates today then.

Mern

Cassie, I'm enjoyed the recipe swapping with you, too.

The La Banderita Soft Tacos I use say Low Carb, Low Fat, High Source of fiber. Contains 8 tortillas. Counts per tortilla are 81 calories, 2g total fat, 1g sat fat, doesn't say what kind of fat the other gram is, but zero trans fat, zero cholesterol, 275mg. sodium, 11g total carbs less 6g dietary fiber equals 5g net carbs, 5g protein. I used to buy Mission low carb tortillas which are more stiff, but I prefer the more soft/doughy ones and was surprised DH doesn't care which ones I buy--he likes them all.

Oh, yum! That strawberry pie sounds Heavenly!

The peaches I have now are from California. They're quite delicious, but I know from our trip through Georgia in peak peach season in 1994, there's nothing as good as a fresh GEORGIA peach.

My peach tarts came out pretty good for a first try. DH liked them.
Very simple: I cut 2 tortillas into 3 rounds each, 3 1/2 inches in diameter (used a Naturally More Peanut Butter lid. LOL) pressed them into 6 metal muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Baked them at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes until golden and then immediately turned them out onto a wire rack to cool.

Turned up the oven to 425 degrees. I sliced up three peaches totalling about a pound. Stirred in 2 1/2 tablespoons Splenda (I think you said you can't use Splenda, but I know you would know a heat-stable sweetener you can use.) I baked that in a glass casserole dish for 20 minutes, stirred, and continued baking for another 15 minutes.

By the time the filling was done, the tart shells were completely cooled, so I divided the filling among the 6 shells and served while still warm.

Could be topped with sugar free ice cream or whipped topping.

Great that you got some exercise today, too and may also get in an evening walk.

Am I correct that, like pajamas, bikinis now come as separates and you put together the top and bottom of your choice? So what combination did you choose? Aw, that was sweet to let hubby have a say in it. We'd all love to see some before and after pics! I'm that way now, too--I learned to not care what people I will never see again think of me. But I'll bet you'll look dynamite with your new bikini bod.